Bleeding Gums Can Lead to Harsh Treatments. Avoid Losing Your Teeth!
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009It was difficult to listen to. The dentist said that I would have to have a ‘scaling and root planing’ treatment done. She said that I should remain calm as my gums would not feel it because they would be numb. I imagined how I might feel when they were no longer numb. The dentist wanted to know if I would be willing to start right away.
I thought that was crazy. There was no way that I was going for that. Instead, I wanted to know why I suddenly needed this done. On my last visit, everything seemed ok. They never mentioned the need for this treatment before.
After that, I went home. I pondered the situation and a couple of questions entered my mind. Did my dentist teach me anything about the prevention of gum disease over those many years that I went to her? I wondered that if she had taught me more on prevention, would I still have ended up with this problem?
It was a bit disturbing to finally understand that I had gum disease. Gum disease didn’t seem a bit friendly. I was really a bit panicked about this SRP treatment. I think that like me, this probably happens to a lot of people. They just aren’t any more informed than I was. Maybe after someone tells them, they start to look into it more. They might conclude, as I did, that the dentist should have told them more about this disease and how to prevent it.
What I learned on my own was that this situation didn’t happen overnight. It existed for years and it was only when the damage was becoming more obvious that I was told about it.
Upon reflection on this event, I’m glad that I decided not to have that SRP treatment performed. The fear made me look for answers. What I discovered was quite interesting.
Way too many people have gum disease right now. It hardly seems ‘normal’ that so many should have it. Again, it makes you wonder what has been going on all of these years.
Even the professionals will tell you that up to 80% of people have some form of gum disease, right now. That is a scary number. And it also underscores a point: Either the stats are very wrong or people do not know they have this problem!
In either case, people are not likely to seek help or do their personal research until things get bad. That is a shame because an ‘ounce of prevention…” There are several tools and products that I found to be very helpful. I wish that I had known about these items years ago. But it seems the only thing the dentist told me about was brushing, flossing and a popular mouthwash.
Had those things been effective, I would have been fine. Yet, despite my normal and frequent routine of brushing and flossing, I still had a problem develop. Those activities just weren’t enough to prevent gum disease!
I was able to discover a few answers on my own. In fact, my answers were pretty good. This was in evidence the next time I saw the doctor and the hygienist. They just didn’t know what to say. But, they both were in agreement that I did not need that dreaded SRP treatment – the same treatment that they had told me was the only thing that would help me just a few months prior. Look for the link below to find out more about what I used.
Finally, I hope that more people can become educated about gum disease – before the damage becomes so evident that it is obvious. You would probably agree by now that it is important to keep our gums healthy and well. I firmly feel that we should be able to keep our own, original teeth, for a lifetime. If we do lose them, it shouldn’t be due to gum disease.